Bebot, a different view

Here’s a different take on the Bebot video.

Filipinos’ hip-hop anthem

Allan Pineda of the Black Eyed Peas honored his homeland with a rap in Tagalog. ‘Bebot’ has become a surprise phenomenon.

By David Pierson, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Times
November 22, 2006
Hey, man, all of you listen to me
Here comes the real Filipino
Came from the barrio Sapang Bato
Went to L.A. and labored
In order to help my mother
Because life is so hard
But the disposition’ s still bright.
So begins the story of Allan Pineda, a member of the hip-hop band the Black Eyed Peas, who two years ago wrote a song about his journey from a poverty-stricken district in the Philippines to Los Angeles’ Atwater Village.

The lyrics were personal, written entirely in Tagalog, the dominant language of the Philippines. Pineda wanted to recount his experience as a Filipino American but wasn’t sure how much the song would resonate with others â?” especially the Black Eyed Peas’ teenage fan base.

The song, “Bebot” (Tagalog slang for “hot chick”), appeared on the Black Eyed Peas’
>multiplatinum- selling album, “Monkey Business,” released in June 2005. The album contained several chart-toppers, but “Bebot” as Pineda expected wasn’t one of them.

But over the last year, “Bebot” has become a phenomenon in ways Pineda, 31, said he could never have imagined.

The musical story of his immigrant experience has become an unlikely rallying cry in California’s Filipino American community.

With its choppy beat and shouting chorus of “Filipino! Filipino!,” the song became a showstopper at weddings and birthday parties. Teenagers many of whom don’t even speak Tagalog choreographed dance routines to it.

But it was the lyrics, not the beat, that had lasting resonance.

The Filipino American community is famous for putting its cultural identity behind assimilation. Though they’re the second-largest Asian group in California behind the Chinese, they have never established set “Filipino” neighborhoods the equivalent of Monterey Park for Chinese Americans or Little Saigon for Vietnamese Americans. There is a historic Filipinotown west of downtown L.A., but the U.S. census found that less than 15% of its residents are actually Filipino.

Many Filipinos arrive in the United States speaking English, immediately making assimilation easier.

“Part of the problem is we blend in so well,” said Winston Emano, an executive at an L.A.-based public relations firm and a community activist. “We have a rapid rate of assimilation. Put a Filipino in Antarctica, and in one month they’ll be one with the penguins.”

For Emano and others, “Bebot” is a vibrant reminder of their cultural past, an easy-to-digest history of their shared experience.

“It’s a cultural bridge,” Emano said. “Kids say, ‘Hey, he’s talking in my parents’ language.’” Pineda was surprised by the passions “Bebot” stirred. So, early this year, he financed two
music videos for the song.

The first paid homage to Stockton’s Little Manila, which was the largest Filipino community outside the Philippines in the 1930s and ’40s. It showed how migrant workers toiled to provide money for their families back home and offered a glimpse of the racism early immigrants encountered.

The second video showed Pineda’s early days hanging out in L.A. with his bandmates and mostly Filipino American friends. The videos were big hits among Filipinos, who plastered Web links to them on MySpace and YouTube.

But Pineda now had a bigger goal. Though his record label felt the videos had limited prospects because they were sung in Tagalog, he hoped to prove the label wrong. He wanted the videos to air on MTV and VH1.

“There’s still a struggle,” Pineda said. “We just got to keep trying.”

When eating, we use our hands
What we eat, chicken adobo
The balut being sold at the corner
Share the glass already
My friend, let’s start drinking.

PINEDA grew up in a slum outside Angeles City on the island of Luzon. His mother was Filipino. He never met his father, who was an American in the U.S. Air Force, Pineda said.
His first connection to the U.S. came when a charity group found him an American sponsor, who started sending him the equivalent of 7 cents a day to help pay for food. Pineda had problems with his eyes, so his sponsor a lawyer named Joe Ben Hudgens wanted to adopt him so he could receive better medical care in the U.S.

His mother agreed, and after seven years of waiting, he arrived to live with Hudgens, a deputy Los Angeles County counsel. It was 1989; Pineda was 14.

Hudgens was living in the Wilshire district at the time but decided to look for a neighborhood where there were mostly Filipinos. The best he could find was a block in Atwater Village, a diverse section of northeast L.A. that included some Filipinos.
“I didn’t want him to be lonely. I suppose I was thinking, ‘Let the neighborhood help raise him like they do in the Philippines, ‘ ” said Hudgens, now 69.

Hudgens, a single parent who spent long hours at work, encouraged Pineda to have friends over any time. Soon, they were practicing rap and dancing.
“I still don’t quite know how all this happened,” Hudgens said of Pineda’s fame. “He has a
performer’s instinct. He loves to entertain.”

Pineda attended John Marshall High School, which, like the surrounding neighborhood, was a mix of cultures. Despite the cultural shift, he was thrilled to be in America. By 16, he was immersing himself in the local hip-hop scene. He went to parties at homes and nightclubs across Southern California, where he made connections that led to the formation of the Black Eyed Peas. The group rose to prominence in the late 1990s with an upbeat brand of rap and stunning dance moves. Their multiculturalism Filipino, Latino and black members set them apart.

But Pineda said that despite the success, he still felt a yearning to write and sing about his
culture.
He wanted to pen a song about his roots that people could dance to. It took him about two days in the band’s sound studio in Atwater Village. Bandmate Will.I.Am, the group’s producer, came up with the beats and started Pineda on his way by chanting “bebot, bebot, bebot” in the cadence familiar to fans today.

He struggled with the right words, so he called a friend’s mother for translations. “It was a hard task,” Pineda said. “I’d never written a rap in Tagalog before. It’s hard to rhyme.”
The song is filled with cultural references central to Filipino American life: They celebrate
by sharing beer, using their hands to eat the nation’s signature dish (chicken adobo) and swallowing balut, fermented duck eggs still in their shell.

“Every Filipino can relate,” Pineda said.

In the modern video, the band arrives at a party riding a Jeepney, the ubiquitous mini-bus seen in the Philippines. An opening scene shows a doting Filipino mother asking one of Pineda’s bandmates if he wants chicken adobo.

The historic video resonated in other ways. Set in 1936, it begins with Pineda working in a Stockton asparagus field. Pineda said he wasn’t aware of Stockton’s history until he learned about it from the videos’ director, Patricio Ginelsa.

“I was overwhelmed, ” Pineda said. “I could relate. They were farmers doing the same thing they do in the Philippines. And their main objective was sending money back home too.”

The Little Manila Foundation has been trying for years to generate interest in preserving the Rizal Social Club and other structures on the decaying Stockton street that once was filled with Filipino farmworkers.

Dillion Delvo, the group’s president, credits the video for a recent surge of interest in his district and efforts to preserve it.

“It’s very powerful for kids to see images of people who look like us from the past,” added
Emano. “It opens up an entirely new world to them, one that they certainly can’t find in their history books in school. And it’s come from arguably one of the world’s most successful pop bands.”

Observe all the beautiful girls

Your beauty really drives me crazy
The sweetness that is never tiresome
You’re the only one I want to be with.

UNTIL the song was released last year, the word “bebot” was something of a relic, even in the Filipino American community. Both the modern and the historic videos are filled with beautiful Filipino women dancing.

But as the song became a community touchstone, it also set off a backlash. Some Filipino women objected to the portrayal of women in the modern video both the sexy dancing “bebots” and the nagging mother.

Pineda said the portrayal of women in the video is a loving one, based on his memories of growing up.

“That’s the trait right there,” he said. “Go to a Filipino household and the mom is always trying to feed you. They’re always trying to advise you.”

Liza Marie S. Erpelo, 33, a language arts professor in Northern California, said it felt stereotypical to her.

“The mother was doing all this screaming,” Erpelo said. “I giggled at first; then I thought, ‘Why am I laughing?’ “

One of Erpelo’s classes at Skyline College in San Bruno deals with Filipino stereotypes and the cultural isolation many Filipinos feel here. She is now using “Bebot” in her class, prompting heated discussions about the value of Pineda’s song as a rallying cry for the Filipino community.

“What merit does that song have, saying, ‘Hot chick, hot chick’?” she asked.

Whatever the effect, the videos’ sexy look definitely had an MTV flavor. And Pineda and
director Ginelsa felt the videos had a shot at both MTV and VH1 despite the fact they were sung in Tagalog.
The “Bebot” team got excited when MTV sent a correspondent to do a segment on the making of the videos.

But the report ran only on MTV Chi, a year-old niche channel aimed at Chinese Americans.

By the fall, Pineda was more sanguine. He was pleased the song was a hit in Asia. He also was touched by the way “Bebot” was embraced by the Filipino community.

“I hoped it would be played in the States, but it is more popular in Asia, which I appreciate,” he said. “The main purpose was to get this out to the Filipino community.

People don’t realize there’s a huge one in America.”

You’re Filipino shout it out
c’mon
If you’re beautiful shout it out
c’mon
If your life is valuable
c’mon
Thank you for your support.

ON a recent Saturday night at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown L.A., Pineda accepted the Role Model Award from the Filipino American Library during a formal gala attended by hundreds who dined on chicken adobo made specially by the hotel kitchen.
Pineda was introduced by fellow Filipino entertainer Tia Carrere, who said, “His story is
the American dream.”

“Bebot” began blaring from the P.A. system and the guests jumped to their feet to cheer as the famously fashionable Pineda bounced to the stage in a navy blue suit, pink tie and glossy white sneakers.

After a few words of thanks in Tagalog, Pineda dedicated the award to his Filipino mother and adoptive father, both of whom beamed from the audience.

“I want to thank the Filipino community for embracing me as a Filipino artist in this game,” he said. “I represent Filipinos every day, every second. I’m a proud Filipino.”
Pineda shimmied and leaped offstage as once again
“Bebot” filled the room.

Once more… isang bandila

Here’s an interesting comment re my previous post on “Isang Bandila”

I don’t think you get it. the video was in itself a parody. They’re rock musicians and they’re not supposed to be in the news room. But they have a stand, which is the most important thing. They’re there to build political interest in a group of people who’d otherwise not be listening. (i.e. the kids) They serve as a bridge.

i think the lyrics are appropriate. how interesting would it be to hear details on how to solve the country’s problems one by one in the song. they’re not politicians. they have views, I’m sure. And they chose to spare the world of it, opting for a more general truth. besides, spoon feeding the kids (or anyone, for that matter) would be dangerous, don’t you think? I’m betting Lennon knew that in writing “Imagine”.

Here’s my reply:

Yeah.. it seemed to be a parody and they’re commendable for at least trying to do something like that but it’s not as effective as it could have been. Remember how rage against the machine did a parody of a game show for “sleep now in the fire”? That was effective and almost eerie. Or how Korn did a video where they smashed a record store, trying to explain the monopoly in the music industry. In the words of a band manager friend, “madaming angas yung video ng Rivermaya” (which by itself is not so bad if they weren’t attempting to deliver a political message.)

Yes rivermaya has a stand or is at least are trying to articulate a stand. I realize this is perhaps their first foray into something political. I do hope that they would also mature in this aspect. No, they don’t have to be preachy about their political views (though they do sound preachy in some parts of the song). A firmer stand next time wouldn’t hurt either. Since it was their first “socially oriented” and political song, I somehow understand why some parts of the video may appear a bit contrived and some parts kinda mixed up.

They don’t have to be politicians but they can talk about social problems. They don’t have to spoonfeed their audience, I agree. But they can go deeper than what is usually found in the textbooks. Some bands like ASIN have done that in the past. I also think it’s not entirely the band’s fault.

Again, not to disparage the band, there is still something admirable in what they did pero bitin lang and my hope is that this would not be their last attempt.

I have yet to listen to their whole album isang ugat, isang dugo. I find it fitting that they would pay tribute to some local bands who were there before the whole band explosion in the 90’s. Not many remember Ethnic Faces, Indentity Crisis, Wuds, Urban Bandits and Binky Lampano and Dean’s December. It would be good to reintroduce them to a new generation of rockers. I was in grade six when I first heard some of these groups.

Yeah, Lennon was practically describing a classless society, in so many words, in the song “Imagine”. No possessions, no countries, no religion, a brotherhood of men. Others might even call that communism.

You gotta hand it to Lennon.

We finally got married

I feel blessed.

Yesterday I tied the knot with the wonderful and lovely Dr. Beng Rivera, an activist doctor from the Head Alliance for Democracy. After months of delay, (which was partly my fault, partly unavoidable) we finally did it at the UP Parish of the Holy Sacrifice. It was a simple activist wedding. We sang our vows, a song we wrote for the wedding itself. Our families, sponsors, comrades and friends were all present during the activity. A mini-concert followed the reception.

We’d like to give a shout out to the artists who sang during the church ceremony, folk legends Lolita Carbon, Jesse Bartolome and Jess Santiago, as well as the church-based group Haranang Bayan and our friends Walkie, Sarah, RJ, Jon and Jonathan.

We’d like to thank the performers during the reception mini-concert, Jerks frontman and genuine rockista Chikoy Pura, Bobby Mondejar and friends who delighted our parents and relatives, and of course Brownman Revival for the amazing finale.

We’d also like to thank our ninongs and ninangs who were kind enough to help out in almost every aspect of the wedding. Ninang Betina Legarda’s cake and desserts were awesome as was ninang Chit Agacaoili’s dinuguan.

Special thanks to the people of Bayan who were all-out in their support for the activity. For those planning a wedding, we recommend Tess Leongson for your catering needs. To all those who brought food; Clay Cafe’, Lola’s, Aling Vivian, Pamalakaya and many others, you filled our hearts and our stomachs.

Our ninang, Atty. Josie Lichauco said it best; after the wedding is a marriage. And we totally look forward to married life together.

Here’s an article written by a long time friend in the movement, Ina Silverio on the how’s and why’s of the wedding. She wrote this before the actual wedding rites, but most of the stuff she wrote about the wedding did happen.

November 22 for Nato and Beng

Renato  Reyes is getting married. Boy, am really getting old, and nevermind that I’m married myself. Nato tying the knot is the thing that really drove the point home: the then 17-year old friend who was most influential in my transition from ordinaryong-nilalang-na-may-ambisyong-magpayaman to aktibista-laging-walang-pera-pero-at-least-masaya is now 31 and officially saying good-bye to singlehood and starting a new phase in his life.

Nato’s a public personality. Of course he’s not a celebrity in the way, say, Sam Milby is (selling hotdogs, facial soap, mobile phonecards and generally being a media, uh, prostitute); but he’s well known because of his political advocacy and how he is a credible and worthy spokesperson on the progressive mass movement he represents.

His public persona — firm negotiator for rallyists when they’re blocked by the police and military; well-read resource person on issues as diverse as national sovereignty, charter change and musical traditions; thorough campaign officer and one of the youngest  to become secretary-general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – is but a hard shell that covers an essentially mushy interior.

Among all movie and literary characters, Nato relates most to the  John Cusack character Rob Gordon in the film version of Nick Hornby’s ‘High Fidelity.’ Hence, the fact that he’s getting married is really a big deal. He’s had three, four relationships that either quietly imploded or spectacularly exploded; and I myself have been witness to his slow, circuitous process of self-questioning and ‘why oh why the hell didn’t it work?!’ assessment. Like I once threatened him, I could blackmail him over all the knowledge I have about how he falls in love and goes slightly crazy when it doesn’t work out (Remember that girl back in college you lent my comic books to, Nato? The one who played bongos? Harharhar!).
         But that’s all blissfully in the past. Nato has had his share of broken hearts and nights of sleeplessness; but now he’s happy and on the way to even more happiness.So to whom is Nato committing to share the rest of his life to?
            Her name is Geneve Emata Rivera, or as she is known to her colleagues and Kasamas in the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD), “Beng.”

I myself know very little about Beng except that she’s a bona fide doctor and that she has a lovely smile. I am certain that she has more beautiful qualities apart from the smile that made Nato fall in love with her, and perhaps in the future I will have more opportunities to know her better; but at this point, it’s Nato who’s my main source of insight on Beng.

  The mind-musical meld

Nato says that his compatibility with Beng is ‘mind-boggling.’ Beng rates their compatibility a nine on a scale of one to 10.

“From the first time I met her, I thought that Beng was different from any woman I’ve met,” he says.

Beng, for her part, says that she realized that Nato was the man for her after their first year together as a couple. “Halos wala kaming pinag-aawayan at ang gaan ng mga bagay-bagay para sa kin dahil sa kanya, naisip ko, siya na nga!”

Nato and Beng were introduced to each other during a press conference where he found out that she was a doctor. Having a corny sense of humor, Nato approached Beng with what he fooled himself into thinking as a ‘creative pick-up line’ -  “Doc, may sakit ako….’

“It hardly made a dent on her; but we went out that same night with some friends. We went out with friends, and we performed a song by Sheryl Crow called Strong Enough. I felt that there was something there. We clicked musically, and there was something about her that drew me  closer. I couldn’t sleep that night. This feeling was reinforced during our trip to Hacienda Luisita on November 15, 2004 . I got to know her better during the long ride to Tarlac,” he said.

It’s not known whether Nato made deliberate moves to get Beng to sit next to him on the three-hour trip to the Haciend Luisita picketline, but what’s certain is that he learned a lot about her during the car ride, and what he learned, he liked. He wanted to know her more, and looked forward to the coming days when he could see and talk more to Beng.

The next day, however, found Nato crashing down to earth.

There was a picket in front of the Department of National Defense (DND) and Nato was already late. He got on a cab, and while waiting for the traffic to move, his celphone beeped.

It was a text message from Beng, only it wasn’t for him.

“It was a missent. Beng was texting her then boyfriend.I was hurt. It was a day of mishaps bevause it turned out that I had left my wallet at home so I had no money to pay the cab,” he says.

Nato didn’t go to the picket anymore. “I went home sad. I was under the impression kasi na she was single. Turned out she was already engaged,” he shares.

            It’s a long telenovella with sudden twists and turns and dramatic moments how he and Beng finally got together. At the beginning, both sides friends discouraged closeness from developing between the two.

Walkie (Mirana-Africa, of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers or ACT), a close friend, cautioned Nato against pursuing Beng because the latter had a boyfriend and was in fact already engaged.

“Alangan namang maging mang-aagaw si Nato,” she says. “It was like the plot of one of those quirky Korean movies he liked to watch where the boy jumps off the train for the girl, but the girl doesn’t see until it’s too late and she gets on, train moves on, and the boy is left flat on the station pavement looking stupid. It was a hard time for him, but also for his friends who knew that Nato had already gone through a series of hellish relationships. We didn’t want him to get himself hurt again, so of course we discouraged him. In the end,  it worked out for best. They were patient, and napatunayan nila na they really wanted to be with each other.”

Nato admits that it took months and months before things got ok. Inevitably, it was Beng who had to make the hardest decisions. Deciding to be with Nato meant letting go of a relationship with a person she cared very much about. It also meant rethinking her priorities because being with Nato also meant embracing her activism more.

“ It was a very difficult time for me and her, more so for her. She sacrificed a lot and went through a lot of difficult decisions on what she wanted to do with her life in the Movement. Me, I had to look back on all the harsh lessons from my previous experiences and tried not repeat them. She had to struggle hard to decide whether she wanted to take a chance with me or not. I had to wait (which is something I’m not so good at). We don’t really have an anniversary for when we became a couple. Our point of reference has always been the Nov.15 trip to Hacienda Luisita,” Nato says.

“Nothing has been easy for us, from the time we met, up to the time we decided to get married. Marriage in the activist context means a lot more difficulty. It is this difficulty, the sacrifice and commitment, which also makes activist marriage meaningful. We know there is a lot of sacrifice involved, a lot of trials and abnormal situations. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Beng jokes that she’s always wanted to get married to a ‘good provider’ (“Which is something Nato isn’t, mwahahaha!”).

“Seryoso, hindi rin naman si Nato ang tipong maghuhugas ng pinggan at magwawalis, e. Basta lang maging malawak ang pang-unawa nya sa mga demands ng trabaho ko, yun lang ang hinihingi ko sa kanya. I’ve  had a fulfilling life as a single person and now I am ready for this chapter in my life na may kasama at may kadamay sa mga kalokohang gusto ko pang gawin, at si Nato iyon.”

 
The lessons of the closing phase of singleton life

Nato’s 31 years old, and he admits that before he met Beng he made a lot of mistakes when it comes to love and relationships. For all his intelligence and sharpness when it comes to the political line on issues affecting economics and politics in the context of social struggle, Nato, when it comes to the politics of love has been something of a dunce.

“All those experiences taught me the things that really matter in a relationship and what to look for in a woman, given my involvement in the Movement. These experiences made me appreciate love within the Kilusan, love that is not just for love’s sake, but for a greater cause. I was so attracted to the idea of being in love. I learned that that attraction or love itself weren’t enough, especially given my work and responsibilities. I learned things the hard way. I was actually pathetic. Lots of John Cusack-High Fidelity moments,” he sheepishly admits.

Beng, 32, also had three official failed relationships behind her; but Nato, he says, was a revelation to her.

“Nung una, medyo mayabang, at akala ko bakla, hahahaha! Pero later on, hindi naman pala. What I like most about him is, napapakalma nya ako pag mainit na ang ulo ko at napapagaan niya ang mga mabibigat para sa kin. Mahalaga din sa akin ang pagiging musikero niya at yung hindi kami nauubusan ng pag-uusapan, kahit ano lang, minsan para na lang kaming mga baliw…”

 
The wedding on November 22

Nato describes his upcoming wedding as ‘Simple, pero rock.’ He and Beng have poured much energy into turning their wedding ceremony and reception into cross between a rally and a rock concert.

“We’re getting married at the UP parish of the Holy Sacrifice. Simple rites but with lots of music. It’s a labor of love by all our family and friends,” he says.

And the effort of all these friends and family members are all very visible. The wedding invitation is laid-out like a concert ticket, was made by Sinag de Jesus. Nato has also made full use of his contacts in the alternative progressive music world and succeed in getting legend Lolita carbon to sing the Bridal march. Jess Santiago and Jess Bartolome will sing during the marriage rites.

“All our friends whom we perform with will also sing!”

Nato and Beng has shunned the traditional bridal car and instead they will be riding a UP IKOT jeep from the church to the reception which will be held at the UP Bonsai Garden.

“There will be a mini-concert in the evening where our band friends will perform. The soundsystem and bandset (same kind we use in rallies) will be rented to us for free. The art work that will be put in display during the wedding and reception are courtesy of artists Ed Manalo, Orly Castillo, Boy Dominguez and UP Fine Arts Dean Niel Doloricon. The venue we got at a lower rate thanks to the help of Dean Paz and daughter Marty,” he says.

True to the tradition of ‘simpleng pamumuhay’, Nato and Beng will be serving simple but filling food: pancit palabok and a choice between puto’t dinuguan or lumpia. Desert will be kakanin, and dalandan juice and sago’t gulaman for drinks. The wedding souvenirs, in the meantime, are courtesy of the political prisoners of the National Bilibid Prison.

“We just want to share the moment with our family and friends in the Struggle. We’re excited about the mini-concert though, and look forward to jamming with friends.”

In his own words, Nato describes the primary witnesses (or like it says in their cool, hippie-psychedelic invitation, Upang Sumaksi, Mga Ninong at Ninang”): Former vice-president Teofisto Guingona( “A true nationalist); Dr. Carol Araullo (“BAYAN chair, and one who understands me more than most people”); Rep. Satur Ocampo (“The man went through a lot of trials himself and his partnership with Ms. Bobbi Malay went through a lot of difficulties during his time in detention under Martial Law. How we wish we could have that same kind of strength in our own relationship!”); Nanay Luz (“Isla Puting bato community organizer, to remind us of what we are and who we’re for); Former Inquirer editor Cookie Micaller (“She’s someone who has helped me understand my work better”); Rep. Francis Escudero (“Because he was cool enough and kind enough to volunteer”); Chit Agcaoili and Fidel Agcaoli of the National Democratic Front (“Super cool couple, our friends. Hindi madamot sa payo at gabay“); Dr. Reynaldo Lesaca (“His best advice is that he hopes we would never need his professional help); Tita Dara (“Beng’s ninang sa binyag, they’re very close“); Mang Gerry Acuzar(“He helped Beng get through that tortuous thing called the Medical Board Exams“); Dr. Bien Lumbera (“Nationalist artist, need we say more?”) Josie Lichauco (“She convinced me to be firm in setting the date of the marriage. So supportive right from the moment I started panicking”); and Betina Legarda (“So kind and helpful, yet sometimes she’s more hardcore than we are. She never fails to surprise me”).

With hope, happily ever after

Nato and Beng will not be going on honeymoon after the wedding. “No time for that. We’re both busy with our respective organizations’ preparations for the upcoming activities against the ASEAN conference. We have a meeting the day after the wedding, preparations for Human Rights Week. Maybe after the rallies in Cebu, maybe not in Cebu. We’ll see. We’re just looking forward to the rest of our lives as a married couple. We’re just happy,” he says.

  Beng has a more pragmatic, but happily hopeful view of what’s in store for them.

           “Tag-hirap, pero nahanda na namin ang isa’t isa sa ganitong buhay at na-realize ko din na andaming nagmamahal sa amin, at kapag alam mo kung bakit kayo magkasama, magiging madali na ang lahat. Ang importante, nagtutulungan ang isa’t isa, pag babagsak na ung isa, andun naman ang isa para mag-angat.”#

US midterm elections, a stinging rebuke of Bush

Things have a way of catching up with the evildoers.

The results of the US midterm elections show a stinging rebuke of US President George W. Bush and his policies, particularly the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. The Democrats’ reclaiming of the leadership of the House of Representatives and the tightly contested race for Senate majority will likely heighten the contradictions between the two factions of the political and economic elite within the belly of the beast.

Bush’s so-called “war on terror”, resulting in the imperialist aggression of Iraq, has been exposed as a self-serving lie that has promoted only the interests of the few. The hawks in the White House are groping for words to explain the quagmire it has found itself in continuing occupation of Iraq.

Democrats have seized the opportunity from Bush’s declining ratings and have mounted a major challenge to the Bush leadership; something that would prove valuable for them in the elections of 2008.

It is unlikely of course that the Democrats will depart greatly from imperialistic policies since the Democrats themselves are part of the ruling American elite. It’s not advisable to raise your expectations of a major shift from a party that has in the past upheld war as a national policy and has adopted neo-liberal globalization as its main economic thrust.

What we can be sure of however is the escalating contradictions between the Democrats and the Republicans, the further weakening of the Bush ruling clique, and the people’s continuing rejection of the Bush regime. Crucial to all of this is the growing and intensifying mass movement as a decissive force in influencing government.

Do Filipinos have something to cheer about? Maybe in the sense that Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself is desperately trying to avoid the fate of the Republicans in the 2007 Philippine elections.

Perhaps she too knows that things have a way of catching up with evildoers.

Oppression

Got this interesting quote from Princess Bustos from San Francisco. It’s a reaction to the John Mayer post.

“Everyday in the street now, i remind myself that Black [Filipino] people in amerika [and in the Philippines] are oppressed. it’s necessary that i do that. people get used to anything. the less you think about your oppression, the more your tolerance for it grows. after a while, people just think oppression is the normal state of things. but to become free, you have to be acutely aware of being a slave.”–Assata Shakur

And for those like Princess who haven’t heard the song or seen the video, here’s the link: